Recipe: Beer Cheese Broccoli Soup

With Bran Yeast Bread

This was the 4th entrant in our 2013/14 Fall & Winter Soup Contest. You can read all about it and see the current scorecard here. Background to the contest and links to recipes for this year's and previous years' contest entrants here. 

BEER CHEESE BROCCOLI SOUP 
Serves 6  

1 ¼ C thick cheese sauce (see recipes in Basics section) 
Large can evaporated milk 
3 oz cream cheese, cut into small chunks 
10 oz box frozen chopped broccoli, thawed 
¼ tsp black pepper 
¼ tsp ground cayenne 
¼ tsp dried oregano, crumbled 
¼ tsp horseradish powder 
¼ - ½ tsp garlic powder, to taste 
½ tsp salt 
½ C (4 oz) beer, at room temperature 
2 strips bacon, fried crisp, half of rendered fat reserved 
1 Tbsp mayonnaise (preferably homemade—see recipes in Basics section) 
½ tsp Worcestershire sauce 

Combine cheese sauce, cream cheese, mayonnaise, and milk in a saucepan over medium heat, and cook until smooth, stirring constantly. Add thawed broccoli and cook until tender, still stirring constantly. Add all spices, the rendered bacon fat, and beer, and stir to mix thoroughly. Just before serving, sprinkle bacon bits over top of soup. Store any remainder in refrigerator (don’t freeze), and reheat with a little milk to thin leftover soup.